To Summon a Named, Known Spirit

This ritual is used to summon a spirit whose name is known to the practitioner. Begin the ritual in whatever way you feel comfortable beginning when summoning a spirit (perhaps creating liminal space, laying a circle for summoning and setting up any protective wards). Prepare your working space with: a candle, a bowl of water or a mirror, an skeleton key, a simple offering, and a bell.

Cleanse the space however you choose—by smoke, sweeping, or breath. Set the candle at the center and place the offering before it. Set the bowl and iron key nearby. When you are ready, light the candle and focus your mind. Say:

By wind and flame, by salt and steel,
I call you forth with open will.
Named spirit, known and sought by me,
I bid you cross, I bid you see.

[Speak the spirit’s name clearly three times, ringing the bell once after each time.]

By name I call, not out of power,
But bond and word, this witching hour.
Come if willing, come if true—
I ask in peace and offer due.

Touch the key to the water or mirror (thinking of this as opening the door for a guest), then set the key aside. Hold the offering up, saying:

A gift I give, of worth and grace,
To mark this time, to bless this place.
Come if you will, and make it known—
Your presence here, your will your own.

Appear to me within this space,
Let witch’s glass reveal know your face.

Wait in silence for a bit. Watch the candle. Watch the mirror or water[1]. Feel any shifts in the energy around you. When you are ready, speak your requests of the spirit clearly and in plain words.  After your communion with the spirit is done, say:

[Spirit’s name], I give you thanks and song.
You came in peace; you won’t stay long.
Now, by my will, I close the way—
Return in peace, and not to stay.

By salt and steel, by breath and flame,
I close the space, I end the game.
Go with grace, be free, be clear—
My work is done, no spirit near.

Blow out the candle. Pour out the water outside or wrap the mirror in a protective cloth before bringing it back into your home. Leave the offering at a tree, a crossroad, or on your doorstep or windowsill.

[1] The point here is not to wait for a literal face in the water/mirror, but to relax and focus on the water/mirror while you let feelings, thoughts, images flow naturally, making note of them.